Thursday, June 13, 2013

Focusing on the relationship between the artwork and the viewer

‘Il Palazzo Enciclopedico’ (The Encyclopedic Palace) as part of the Venice Biennale and 55th International Art Exhibition looks to reflect on insatiable creative urges, trying to fathom: ‘what exactly is the artists' inner world?’ The idea behind it is giving rise to a plurality of artistic voices, thus generating a new and interesting narration.

The la Biennale di Venezia President, Paolo Baratta, states: “Over the years, in representing the contemporary, the curators have realized how important it is to place artists in a historical perspective or in a context of mutual affinities, by highlighting ties and relations both with the past and with other artists of the present.

This trend has led to a premise that there’ll be ‘no more shows without archives’ and to organize, for every Biennale, a conference on the archives-exhibit relationship. At the same time, in contrast with the avant-garde period, there is an increasing focus on the intensity of the relationship between the artwork and the viewer who, though shaken by artistic gestures and provocations, ultimately seeks in art the emotion of engaging with the work, which should cause that desire to traverse what is expected from art. “

This insight into the relationships between artists, in time and space, and in the dialogue between both artist and viewer, has reflected in exhibits like ‘Making Worlds’ (Daniel Birnbaum, 2009) and ‘Illuminations’ (Bice Curiger, 2011). In emphasizing those relationships to varying degrees, interest in the world referred to by the artists has also grown. The Biennale is making a decisive move in this particular direction, and will fructify a great exhibition-research.

‘Il Palazzo Enciclopedico (The Encyclopedic Palace)’ tries to fathom: ‘what exactly is the artists' inner world?’ through works from the past, different references, works that are part of the stimuli for imagining and dreaming beyond reality. This vision apparently aroused the ‘aspirations’ of artists in the classical period and ‘obsessions’ in modern times so as to give tangible form to both.

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